Crucial Aspect of Friendships
God is a relational being
It is part of His nature ~ Triune God
God is perfectly in communion with Himself from all eternity
Gospel of John is helpful in thinking about this; constant refrain about the love between the Father and the Son
Also see this in His interaction with His people
Constant desire on the part of God to be in communion/fellowship with His people [Opening of Genesis to the
close of Revelation]
Isaiah 41:8 – But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
Exodus 33:11 – Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When
Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from
the tent.
Jesus ~ friend of sinners (Matt. 11:19) & disciples (Luke 12:4)
As those made in the image of God, we were created as relational beings
Contains both a vertical and horizontal component to it
Genesis 2:18 – Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper
fit for him.”
Adam was not lonely because he was imperfect, but because he was perfect [to be perfect was to be relational]
All of this to say that friendships are part of what makes us human; or, to say it differently, we need friends to be fully
human
Quotes on the significance of friendship:
Aristotle – “friendship is one soul abiding in two bodies”
Gregor of Nazianzus (4 th c. church father) – “If anyone were to ask me, ‘What is the best thing in life?’ I
would answer, ‘Friends.’”
Kevin DeYoung – “Friendship is the most important – least talked about relationship in the church.”
Dr. Joel Beeke – “Friendship is one of the primary means God uses to strengthen His people.”
Jonathan Edwards – “Friendship is the highest happiness of all moral agents.”
JC Ryle – “This world is full of sorrow because it is full of sin. It is a dark place. It is a lonely place. It is a disappointing place. The brightest sunbeam in it is a friend. Friendship halves our troubles and doubles our joys.”
Drew Hunter – “Friendship is the ultimate end of our existence and our highest source of happiness. Friendship – with one another and with God – is the supreme pleasure of life, both now and forever, and no one can fully enjoy life without it.”
John Newton – “I think to a feeling mind there is no temporal pleasure equal to the pleasure of friendship.”
Aelred of Rievaulx (12 th c. author) – “Absolutely no life can be pleasing without friends.”
But this ideal is not always the reality in which life is lived:
20% of adults say they have no close friend to discuss personal problems with
20% of adults admit to feeling lonely at any given time
“Rent-a-friend” business reveals the need for friends
Next, we will turn our attention to the careful cultivation of friendships
Throughout we will be considering the teaching from the book of Proverbs
Greater care needs to
be given at each level
you move down
Hugh Black wrote that “the Proverbs are a treatise on friendship.”
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